Posted by seumasach on November 11, 2011
11th November, 2011
“A military operation against Iran could have grave consequences,” Chairman of the Russian Parliamentary Committee for International Affairs Konstantin Kosachev told reporters on Thursday.
“And Russia should make every effort to control emotions, bring negotiations back into the field of political and expert discussion, and not allow any such action against Iran.”
He stressed that he sees this as Russia’s responsibility, and that Moscow has all the means to tackle this task.
The politician also said that he is “surprised” by the fact that despite all its earlier allegations the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) does not cite any new evidence in its latest report that Tehran has been “developing nuclear weapons”.
On Tuesday, the nuclear watchdog released a report in which it accused Iran of conducting activities related to developing nuclear weapons before 2003. The authors of the document alleged that these activities “may still be ongoing”.
Kosachev strong dismissed the report, and said it is inconsistent.
“What is even more surprising,” he adds, “is that the document deals with the situation before 2003, while accusation are being brought against modern Iran and today’s leadership.”
He dismissed the US and Israeli call for tougher sanctions against Iran due to the recent IAEA report, and said, “It is premature to say that Iran is violating its non-proliferation obligations and, consequently, deserves economic sanctions or a military operation based on this report.”
Over the recent weeks the US and Israel have intensified war rhetoric against Iran. On November 6, Israeli president Shimon Peres said that an attack on Tehran is becoming “more and more likely”.
In the opinion of Konstantin Kosachev, this military rhetoric makes the talks on Iran’s nuclear program useless, as settlement of the problem is only possible “through political dialogue”.
Iranian officials blasted the UN nuclear watchdog’s chief for releasing a US-dictated report on Iran’s civilian nuclear program, and said the report lacks legality.
Iran has also warned the US and the Zionist regime against the dire consequences of any military aggression against Iran, and underlined that the Iranian Armed Forces would annihilate Israel completely if the country comes under attack.
“Iran has the capability to annihilate the Zionist regime forever, if attacked” Member of the Iranian parliament’s Presiding Board Mohammad Hossein Farhangi told FNA on Wednesday.
Meantime, he downplayed the importance of the war rhetoric of Israel and its allies against Iran, and said that the Zionist regime and other countries change their views everyday and “even they do not dare to say firmly that they intend to attack the Islamic Iran”.
Political observers believe that Israel’s failure in its 2006 war on the Lebanese Hezbollah has discouraged the Zionist regime from waging an attack on Iran.
They believe that the Zionist regime of Israel has already tested its military power in its attack on Lebanon and Hezbollah, and knows that it lacks the necessary power and courage to attack Iran.
Iran has warned that it would target Israel and its worldwide interests in case it comes under attack by the Tel Aviv.
Meantime, US military leaders have warned that strikes could be catastrophic to US national security interests and could engulf the Middle-East in a “calamitous” regional war.
The US defense secretary in his remarks in October made it clear to Tel Aviv that the US opposes any unilateral action by Israel to thwart Iran’s nuclear program.
After talks in Tel Aviv with Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak in early October, Leon Panetta underlined his country’s strong opposition to Iran’s nuclear activities, but warned the Israeli regime that a unilateral action could endanger the regime.